Investors are more sceptical towards funding the so-called unicorns, or companies valued at more than $1 billion on paper.

A new report published by PitchBook reportedly stated that only 17 US companies have received an unicorn status so far this year, as CNBC (cnbc.com) explained in a recent article. In 2014 and 2015, the peak unicorn years, more than 40 companies hit or surpassed the $1 billion valuation mark, as the online media pointed out.

“The unicorn frenzy has slackened in the US when compared to 2014 and 2015, but still more billion-dollar companies are being created than are turning that valuation into cash.”, as PitchBook`s research showed.

“While several of these companies have completed successful exits this year, more value is locked in these unicorn companies than ever before.”, as they added.

The main highlights in the report are listed by PitchBook:

While accounting for less than 1% of completed deals in 2017, unicorn financings represent roughly 21% of deal value

After eight unicorn exits this year, 120 US companies remain with the distinction

More than $156 billion has been created in unicorn valuations this year

Companies with high valuation are actually hard to sell since few large enterprises can afford to spend more than $1 billion for acquisition of another company.

“When non-traditional investors entered into venture capital several years ago, it was thought that many of the companies receiving billion-dollar-plus valuations were likely to exit in the near future. Those exits haven’t happened.”, PitchBook`s report stated as quoted by CNBC.

Many US unicorns like Uber, WeWork and Airbnb have reportedly decided to stay private, as the report explained.

Also, it is harder for billion-dollar start-ups to go public with an impressive stock pop and a steady valuation growth, as the article made clear.